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Sunday, December 30, 2012

I love this picture. I mean, geez, it's me as a baby, and I was adorable! Tina and I are obviously paying attention to two different things. I was looking at something/someone fun and interesting! Tina looks like she's watching Fox News or something else equally boring...

This is 1977, after Tina'd had 2 Christmases at school, so there are more and different ornaments on the tree. But there's that same white garland. Gotta love it.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

One year later and the tree looks so much the same. There's that white horse ornament, front and center again! We assume this is 1975 - any aunts have any idea if we're right?

I remember always having Christmas with Mom & Dad at home after Santa had been there overnight and then going to Grama & Grampa Betz's house. They had an old farm house in the country, and we always knew were to find the toys.

I know that this is at Grama Betz's house because of the toys Tina's playing with. I played with that doll and cradle when I was little too.
Let's take a look at Tina's incredibly awesome outfit a little closer. Looks like she's wearing an apron. At least she won't get her shirt dirty if her baby spits up! And oh those pants! Red and white plaid with some blue?!?! That's some serious stuff right there. And, um, I have to ask... Did Tina have really big feet, or is she wearing someone else's shoes? I can't tell what's going on there... but her foot looks as long as her leg!

There you have it folks, a request for a vintage photo if I've ever heard one. Most of my digitized old photos include Tina. Since she's all but outright asked for Vintage Photo Fridays, let's do a whole weekend! Christmas-themed vintage photos staring Tina (and sometimes her very cool little sister)! It's going to be the best weekend ever!

This is the Christmas tree I grew up with until about 5th or 6th grade. I think it might be the tree that Mom & Dad had at their first Christmas together. I remember that white with gold horse ornament that's above Tina's head, but not the others. That garland was around for many many years - I wonder if Mom still has it somewhere? The boxes of ornaments and the boxed up tree always smelled the same each year. I can even smell it now. A little dusty, a little old, and 100% Christmas.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

You know how you lose touch with a friend, and wish you could contact them again but it's been so long that it would be a little awkward because you don't want to be asked where you've been or why you didn't respond the last time she sent you a card with a picture of her kid? Yeah, me too.

I really wanted to blog daily in November, it just didn't happen... I have all the excuses everyone else in the world has.

I was sick.

We were out of town.

Work has been crazy.

But I just wasn't able to get past those things and find time to blog. *sigh*

We're all here now, so let's not talk of this uncomfortable subject any longer! Instead, let's talk about what I've tried from Pinterest...

The original blogger put sticks in her Oreos, dipped them in melted Andes candies bits, decorated, and viola! An alternative to cake pops! I couldn't find small enough sticks (mine were too big in diameter for the Oreo), so I just dipped them in. And you know what? They're delicious! I highly recommend them!

You just melt the Andes candies pieces (I used my 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup and the microwave on 1/2 power), dip away, and sprinkle some sprinkles! Once I didn't have enough chocolate left to dip, I lined up the Oreos and poured chocolate onto them. Worked out great! This was a Pinterest WIN!

The original blogger used the square pretzels, put a Rolo on top and into the oven, then added a walnut to the top.

Well, I love both caramel and chocolate, and turtles are a favorite (but infrequently purchased) candy of mine, so it was selected to be tried as well (oh, yeah, I'm taking the dipped Oreos and the turtles to an event at church tonight).

I am now able to saw with all sincerity that if they pull Turtles and all of their knock-offs from the shelves today, I will be fine. These Rolo "Turtles" are freaking amazing! It was hard to keep my hands off of them! I made two baking sheets of them, and would have made more had I not run out of Rolos.

So, you put the square pretzels on your baking sheet, leaving some room so you can eventually place the walnuts, put a Rolo on top of each pretzel, pop in the 350 degree oven for 4-5 minutes, then press a walnut on top and do the impossible - wait for them to cool. They will look cool before they are cool - you'll see what I mean when you are licking Rolo chocolate off of your fingers. Do I even have to say it? Pinterest WIN!

Also, two things:

Buy the Rolos at the check out - unwrapping individual Rolos kinda sucks (and somehow a lot of them ended up in my tummy...)

I used walnut pieces because they were So. Much. Cheaper. Many pieces were big enough, and other times I used two pieces on one Rolo.

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By now I can tell you're looking for a Pinterest FAIL, so here it is:
This original pin said that you could make a cake mix cake taste better by adding an egg, using milk instead of water, and using melted butter (double the amount) instead of oil. Rhy was making cupcakes for a friend's birthday, and I asked if she wanted to try this different way of making the cupcakes.

*Side note: She also put a Lindor Truffle in each cupcake, which all melted to the bottom, but tasted WONDERFUL.*

Here's what failed: Day 2 the cupcakes were okay, but a bit dry which I was confused by - I assumed they would remain soft. Also, the bottom of the cupcake was really greasy - which was either from the butter or the chocolate. And it fell apart easily. Hmmm. Day 3 I heard Rhy say "It's hard like a cookie!" It was just disappointment from there... We will not be making these modifications again - it was a Pinterest FAIL.

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And since I'm sure I've made you all hungry by now... The old "how to make your nail polish dry faster" pin. It's kind of like losing weight - everyone wants an easy and quick way to make their nail polish dry. But let's face it - you just have to put in the time. I remember in college the thing was to go run your nails under cold water, but that gave you a false sense of hope, which just ended up with smeared nails. So I was wary of this one.

The original pin (from Real Simple, BTW... oh, Martha...) said "Set your manicure in record time. Lightly mist freshly painted nails for instant smudge protection." I knew better. I kept my cool new purple nail polish handy [has anyone else ever noticed that Pinterest really wants us all to have our nails painted, and in some really cool way? Do the nail polish companies pay people to go and pin their nail polish because those pictures look freaking professional and they are so. freaking. common! So I bought nail polish and did my nails. Because Pinterest told me to.] and sprayed some Pam (butter flavor) on my thumb. And then gingerly touched that nail with my other hand. Instant smudge. Nice, Martha. You suck. Pinterest FAIL.

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And there you have it - what I've been busy doing lately. I promise to try better at writing. Don't forget about me! Kisses!